Whitehaven in Cumbria

Visit Whitehaven and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:

Whitehaven, Cumbria. This was previously a hamlet, but in 1690 Sir John Lowther began the work that eventually transformed it into a seaport and coal-mining town. Its development was fostered by Sir James Lowther (1736—1802), the 1st Earl of Lonsdale, who built Whitehaven Castle in 1769. The Friends' Meeting House, the lighthouse, the new quay, and St James's Church were built in the 18th century. There are also Georgian houses in Lowther Street. Whitehaven is now an industrial area but can be used as a centre for visiting the western lakes and is the nearest important town to Ennerdale. Paul Jones attacked Whitehaven in 1788 and a German U-boat shelled it in 1915.